Rice Cake

Photo: flickr user FotoosVanRobin

Ingredients

225 grams long grain white rice

570 mls water

2 teaspoons groundnut oil

Preparation

Wash the rice and put it with the water in a 23cm wide heavy pot.

Bring the water to the boil over a high heat.

Then turn the heat down as low as possible cover and let the rice cook for about 45 minutes.

The rice should form a heavy crust on the bottom.

Remove all the loose surface rice leaving the heavy crust.

This loose rice can be used for making Fried Rice.

Dribble the oil evenly over the top of the crust and let it cook over a very low heat for 5 minutes. The crust should lift off easily at this point.

If it is still sticky add another teaspoon of oil and continue to cook until the whole thing comes loose.

Put the crust onto a plate until it is ready for use.

Once it has been cooked it can be left out at room temperature for several days.

Do not cover it as moisture will form and make the cake soggy.

Let the rice cake dry out and it is then ready to be deepfried and put into hot chicken stock to make a soup or used for Sizzling Rice Prawns.

As a simple snack break it into chunks and eat it hot with a sprinkling of salt.

Rice cakes were probably invented by a thrifty Chinese cook centuries ago in order to make use of that thin layer of rice which sometimes gets stuck at the bottom of the pot. This crispy leftover has evolved into an accompaniment to many dishes. Its taste and crunchy texture go deliciously with Sizzling Rice Prawns for example. My mother often used to serve rice cakes with hot chicken broth for a sizzling rice soup. We also ate them as a snack with just a touch of oil and salt. After trying them you will never discard your leftover rice crust again.

Do not use easy cook rice for this dish because it does not have enough starch to form any crust; use long grain white rice. Basically the method is the same as for steamed rice but the cooking time is longer.

Makes a 23cm rice cake